This past week....

..... has just been so busy. S has left Infant school. G and I went to her Leaver's assembly on Tuesday afternoon and I'm so glad I picked up a couple a few tissues to stuff in my pocket on the way out of the door. On Wednesday the children could go in dressed as a favourite pop star/ sports star/ character from a book. S loves Tracy Beaker and so went as Tracy's best friend Justine Littlewood. The girls are full of attitude and I tried to get S to give me a sulky 'don't mess with me face' but she kept laughing, this is the closest we got!

On Thursday G and I went to Winchester.

We wandered round by the Cathedral to see these bollards I had read about recently. All painted in the style of different artists. My favourite though was the one done for the Jubilee, bunting and strawberry jam, what's not to like?

We spotted this in the window of a sweet shop just down from the train station where G bought the most sour sweets in the world. 

For lunch we went to the same place as the four of us went on our day trip to Winchester last January. Great art work in the Ladies!

 Lots more great art work on the back of the local buses promoting what the City has to offer.

On Friday I finished work for the duration of the school holidays and in the evening I went out with lots of people from the charity shop. I did my last shift on Wednesday and the manageress also left this week. Plus another of the ladies had her 70th birthday in this past week so there was lots to celebrate.


Talking of birthday's I had one of those yesterday.
Oh my I'm 44 now!


Along with my sister, mum and some friends and their children, the four of us packed up a picnic and went to the local park armed with bats, balls, parachute, frisbees and a hula hoop and spent all afternoon eating and playing, mostly in the sun which was a bonus.


As usual I was completely spoiled and received some fabulous presents. The wheel fell of my shopping trolley a few weeks ago and couldn't be fixed and so G bought me a new one. Not just any design though, oh no I now have a red and white polka dot one!!! Just how gorgeous is this!!! T said 'you should have seen your face when you saw it', I think I must have looked very happy indeed.

From T and S I had a CK floral flask of fabuloussness, a pretty polka dot mug and the sweetest egg cup complete with a soldier shaped toast cutter.

If you have been reading my blog for a  while you will know that my sister and I only buy each other birthday and Christmas presents from the charity shop/jumble/car boot etc. Here is a selection of the items she has found for me this year, a ring, a brooch, a bangle, a beaded bracelet, a money box and 5 tops. 

What a lucky girl I am.

A Torch and A Trail

The Olympic torch made a stop in our City on Saturday evening.

The weather wasn't kind to us and we all felt pretty damp and soggy as we waited in Mayflower Park,

but we did enjoy the entertainment, watching dancers and listening to Wretch 32.

The torch arrived on the ferry from the Isle of Wight and then did a lap of the City centre

before coming back to the park so the cauldron could be lit.

Today the sun shone and so we packed a picnic and went for a walk on the Cobbett Trail in the nearby village of Botley.

One of the first things to catch my eye was this beautiful honeysuckle growing over the wall of the Old Rectory.

We all liked this little wooden cabinet sat in a hedge as a means for selling eggs from a local farm.

As we came into the village there were lots of really picturesque buildings 

and a penny farthing in what looked like a shop window but it didn't look as though the shop was actually in use.

This bath planted up with lavender was on the corner of a road which led to a bathroom fittings shop!

Just off the main High Street is what I think was called Malthouse Lane which was a previous winner of a prize in Britain in Bloom and it was full of flowers. This little row of cottages were really pretty with the white window boxes and the lamps.

Slightly further along was this white washed cottage with a pretty blue wooden porch

and on the opposite side of the road ran and old brick wall which as well as having this wonderfully weathered door set into it, it had a profusion of cottage garden flowers running along the length of it.

And we weren't the only ones enjoying them.

According to an information board we found the Quay at Botley was once a thriving hub of activity when the waterways were used to transport goods, but now it just provides somewhere to sit and watch the river go by

unless of course you venture down to the water's edge and get stuck in the mud.

 Silly photo of T which just had to be included.

This lovely looking place is Steeple Court Manor where William Cobbett' s sister and brother in law lived. Very nice indeed.

Just as well we were all kitted out in wellies as as well as the mud there were plenty of puddles on the walk and S decided that the best course of action was to hopscotch through this one!

As we neared the end of the walk we wondered if we would get the chance to picnic looking at the clouds above but we needn't have worried as although there were a couple of spots of rain it didn't amount to much.

Just had to take a photo of this crisp G found, he reckons it is shaped just like a Trojan helmet!

Final photo is a bit random but I had to include my new set of polka dot tupperware type boxes and the strawberries I hulled using my new top tip.

The Holidays Are Coming

I think S is going to be more than ready for the school summer holidays.

This last half term she has had a trip to a Hindu temple and another to the Mayor's parlour for an awards presentation. Next weekend the whole school has sports day, a sponsored trampoline bounce and then Year 2 have their leaver's assembly. Today has probably been the most exciting of all though. A trip to London for a picnic, sightseeing by coach, seeing The Lion King and then pizza. A treat for working hard during their time at Infant school before they go up to the Junior's in September.

Over this past week I have been checking out websites for ideas on places to visit and events we can go to locally, and slightly further afield, so hopefully we can have a our fair share of summer fun.

One thing I thought I would share as others may find it interesting is a free download from http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk/ I know I have mentioned this web site before but it really is so good and is jam packed full of FREE ideas to do with children, both out and indoors. 

I have downloaded a copy of my THE SUMMER ADVENTURE LOG BOOK for (mainly) S to, hopefully, complete and here are a few pages to give you an idea.

A tick list of different places to visit

The different ways we may travel on our days out, I'm liking the piggy back option shown by one tiny snail hitching a lift on the back of another.

The type of weather we have during the holiday, should we just tick the boxes for heavy downpours now?

Another tick list, this time of activities which we may be able to do

There is even a page to record all the scrummy treats taken on picnics.

Here's hoping we get some of our log book completed.

One Amazing Summer

The only thing amazing about summer so far this year is that the weather has been just so appalling. 
However the the new BBC trailer, entitled One Amazing Summer is pretty amazing, made up of 168 separate shots over 74 different locations. It certainly made me smile when I first saw it, especially the poor dog and cat being pushed off the sofa! I defy anyone to watch it and not end up smiling.

Things that have made me smile this past week...

A rain drop drenched poppy in one of the park gardens in town.

A visit to the Thai festival on Sunday. Lots of lovely food, chatting with friends and a variety of entertainment including a trio of Ladyboys.

S looking completely adorable and grown up on her transfer day, all preparation for Junior school in September.

A £1.00 purchase from the charity shop, snazzy blue Midwinter casserole(?) dish serving as our new fruit bowl.

This tin of shortbread from Marks and Spencer. 

Snowflake ballerina tutu skirts made for S's Barbie's. Top optional apparently!

My new diary.

Hope there is plenty in your world right now to make you smile.